


Force of Attraction

by setosdarkness



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Black Haze AU, M/M, stalker!Bokuto needs to happen more, still so thirsty even in AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-30 22:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6444529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setosdarkness/pseuds/setosdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bokuto is a pretty reasonable guy, most of the time. Unless Akaashi comes into the picture. And. Well. Let’s just say that Bokuto has already destroyed at least five buildings, two towns and one palace in pursuit of Akaashi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Force of Attraction

***

“He’ll come... He won’t come... He’ll come...”

Bokuto Koutarou mumbles as he plucks the leaves out of the tree branch he had snagged while he was making his way inside this auction hall.

“Bro, stop littering.”

Unlike most of his mission partners - aptly dubbed as ‘handlers’ - Bokuto actually gets along well with Kuroo Tetsurou, one of the rare magicians who can morph into an animal to gain an extra boost in mana.

But then again, there are certain times that Bokuto devotes 100% of his attention to his task at hand, ignoring everything and everyone else.

Kuroo sighs as he tries to discreetly wave the plucked leaves away to one darkened corner. Esteemed guests from the Association they might be, but gossip and talk still affect their missions and their salaries from said missions.

Being such well-known magicians from the Association gives them enough presence that there’s hardly anyone who doesn’t know of them, one way or the other. It’s more difficult to avoid scrutiny that way.

There’s no problem when Kuroo’s with his usual partner, because Kenma has mastered the art of quickly finishing a mission hidden from the public’s eyes.

It’s actually not a problem with Bokuto as well - most of the time. Oftentimes, Bokuto dispatches his enemies in a showy flash of powerful magic, making him well-known for having a 100% mission completion rate.

It’s just.

It’s just that, well.

“He’ll come... He won’t come... He’ll come...”

Kuroo waves the next batch of plucked leaves away again, headache building in his temples.

Ever since that mission from that day, Bokuto’s been stalking a certain magician like a persistent, irritable bloodhound, mood swings jumping all over the place between depression at not seeing the person he wanted to meet and violent anger at the thought that the person he’s pursuing is hiding from him.

“You do know that our mission today is to protect that gem they’re auctioning off, right? Bro?”

“I don’t care about that, brooooo.”

“It’s our first mission together in a while, you’re hurting my feelings.”

“I didn’t mean to, bro, you know that.” Bokuto whines like a kicked puppy. Kuroo isn’t impressed - a starving wolf, Bokuto is more like. “But, I can just _feel_ it, you know? I can feel that he’s gonna be here. He’ll definitely come!”

“Oho?”

“Ohoho.”

“Ohohoho?”

“Ohohohoho!”

Kuroo grins, glad that he’s friend is at least in better spirits than earlier. “Well, is that what your twig tells you?”

“Yup! I ended with a ‘he’ll come’, so he’ll definitely come!”

Kuroo swats the twig shoved to his face away. He generously doesn’t point out that Bokuto’s always ended up with a ‘He’ll come’, if only because he plucks a leaf in half if he can see that it will not end with the result he wants.

“Our first priority is still our guard duty, okay bro?”

But Bokuto isn’t listening anymore, busying himself with bouncing all over the place, looking over the railings from the second story of where they’re located.

They’ve managed to secure themselves a pretty good location - just above the only entrance to the room and just across its only exit. They can see everyone attending the auction, give or take a few meter’s worth of blind spots that can easily be covered.

The magic stone they’re supposedly protecting is displayed right in the middle of the auction hall, waiting for its chance to be sent off to the highest bidder.

Kuroo’s not particularly enamored by shiny magic stones, because it’s much cooler to be able to pull off an intricate magic spell just with one’s own spell-writing and casting techniques, coupled with one’s mana. Relying heavily on magic stones is a fool’s shortcut, but it doesn’t preclude people from falling all over the place to obtain the most expensive stones in the market.

Simply put, the probability that there are mercenaries and magicians from other guilds hoping to steal the magic stone being auctioned is at 100%.

“Look, Bokuto. Karasuno has sent in their dynamic combi.”

It’s part an effort to distract Bokuto from glaring too hard at each black-haired magician he sees, and part an effort to get Bokuto to pay attention at other magicians that they should be on the lookout for.

“Ah, Hinata told me that he’d be here,” Bokuto replies with a mere ounce of enthusiasm.

Kuroo hums as he realizes the reason behind the chibi’s partner’s deep frown. “Kageyama-kun probably blew a fuse when he learned of that, huh.”

“Why would Kageyama-kun be mad...?”

“You’re clueless, bro.”

While most magician guilds are supposed to be working in harmony, all for the betterment of the continent and what not, reality is that competition is at an all-time high. Getting selected to be part of the Association is considered to be the next rational step before one is hand-picked to serve at the highest level of the country.

Bokuto himself is strong enough to be hand-picked as part of the Tower, within just three years of serving as part of the Association. He’s still part of the Association, even now, but he’s also sometimes asked to go on higher-level missions that involve national affairs.

For that very reason, Bokuto needs to actually _behave_.

Kuroo can swear that he cares more about his friend’s career, the way things are going.

The thing is, Bokuto is a pretty reasonable guy, most of the time.

Unless _that person_ comes into the picture.

And.

Well.

Let’s just say that Bokuto has already destroyed at least five buildings, two towns and one palace in pursuit of _that person_.

Kuroo hopes that they won’t have a run-in with the person Bokuto’s been obsessing over for the past couple of months.

But then again, knowing how lucky he is when it comes to making wishes like that, they’ll probably have this mission go to hell.

***

“Iwa-chan, I _cannot_ believe the nerve of that waiter! How can he just-just-just- _simply_ address me as a ‘guest’! A _gues_ t!!!”

“You’re wearing a disguise, idiot.”

Iwaizumi Hajime isn’t shy of hitting his charge, even though the other is supposed to be his superior in every manner, except probably in mannerism and decorum and maturity and what-have-you. He has less inhibitions now though, especially since there’s no Matsukawa or Hanamaki who’ll coo noisily at him and playfully threaten to fire him if they see him hitting his master one more time. He doesn’t know why they keep on threatening him with that - it’s not like he actually believes there’s a chance they’d actually do it.

“They’re not supposed to recognize you.”

“Well, duh. But he’s supposed to just _see_ and _feel_ my lovely aura, isn’t he? You can’t disguise one’s lovely, perfect, beautiful presence!”

Iwaizumi considers it, cocking his head. “I guess you can’t. But what does have to do with you?”

“You’re so mean!” Oikawa Tooru cries out, crocodile tears welling up in his eyes.

Just for that fake-crying, Iwaizumi jabs him on the side with his elbow. He easily ignores the whining and gushing about barbaric strength.

“Hey, Tobio-chan and shrimpy-chan are both here! Let’s go say ‘hi’!”

“Did you forget that you’re supposed to be in a _disguise_?”

“I didn’t, I promise!” Oikawa grins brightly at him, hand forming the peace-sign he’s seen at some drama or the other. “I just wanna say hello to them and tease them a little!”

“And you’ll blow your cover.”

“I will not.”

“You so will.”

“I will not, Iwa-chan, come on, I’d think you have no faith in me!”

“I have absolutely zero faith in you,” Iwaizumi confirms solemnly, hand automatically reaching out to Oikawa’s sleeves to stop him from running over to where his favorite ex-pupil is.

“But we have perfect trust and sync with each other!” Oikawa yelps as he’s kept in place. He struggles for a few moments, wriggling and whining and making a fool of himself and causing some of the nearby guests to edge away from him, before standing in front of Iwaizumi again. “Makki and Mattsun said so!”

“Those two are lying liars who lied. I’m not even sure why you believe those are their names. They’d lie about anything.”

“You’re such a grumpypants, Iwa-chan. Just because they lied about their religion that one time...”

“They also lie about their favorite colors. They even lie about the time of the day while in front a functional clock, for fuck’s sakes.”

“Haaa, this is why I need the three of you to attend some bonding sessions. I can’t have Iwa-chan being so judgmental about them...”

“I’ll kill those two.”

“Ahaha, you’re such a brute, Iwa-chan!”

“I’m not kidding.”

“Of course you’re not.” Oikawa looks at him appraisingly, the leer on his lips so truly Oikawa even with his disguise showing him as a very forgettable guest of mediocre status. “You’d kill anyone you think is a threat to my safety. You’re such a perfect knight.”

“I’m just doing my job.”

Oikawa’s lips thin into a flat line. “...Right.”

He really is just doing his job.

Even if it’s a strange one.

It’s been years since he had applied for that job to be the bodyguard of one Oikawa Tooru, but he’s still surprised every day as to why he’s even here.

Even if he’s never actually seen Oikawa use magic in the ten years that he’s been plastered to the other’s side, Oikawa’s still one of the youngest handpicked members of the Tower.

There’s no need for a bodyguard for someone that strong, is there?

***

“Why are you hiding, Kenma!”

Kozume Kenma resists the urge to jump, to sigh, to hit the person who surprised him.

“I’m undercover, Shouyou.”

“Wow, that’s sooooo cool!”

“Be quiet, Shouyou.”

“Aw, sorry, Kenma! I’ll be quiet!”

Kenma rarely gets the urge to tear his hair out, but dealing with Shouyou on missions where he’s supposed to be discreet and undercover tests his patience. He resents Kuro the littlest bit for agreeing to be paired up with Bokuto so easily, because he’s then left alone to deal with the forces of nature known as Lev and Shouyou.

The only consolation is that Lev caught a nasty flu just earlier today, leaving him incapacitated in the headquarters with only Yaku for company. He doubts Lev minds being left with his favorite handler, just as he doubts that Yaku hates being forced to babysit their newest member.

“You’re...not with your... partner.”

Kenma dislikes small talk, but he can’t help that tiny bit of curiosity from leaking out. He has assessed Kageyama Tobio to be the type of person who’s rather possessive of his partner. He doesn’t think that the other would take well to Shouyou talking with other people, especially from their rival guild.

Shouyou huffs. “Well, that jerk’s being a jerk, so!”

“...so you had a fight.”

“We didn’t fight, no! He’s just being a jerk! He’s all fuwaaaa but then he makes this face that’s like guyaaa and grrr and then, and then—”

Kenma can feel a headache rapidly building in his temples. There’s exhaustion from dealing with people in general, and there’s dealing with Shouyou and his inexplicable feelings toward his partner.

He chooses to ignore Shouyou resorting to ranting about Kageyama. Instead, Kenma continues his sweep over the auction hall, registering everyone’s magic signatures in his tracker. There’s a number of attendees, making Kenma’s hands sweat in apprehension; most of them appear as harmless humans, but the magical signatures registered have a wide spectrum of aura colors, saturating this auction hall with magicians and magicians in disguises.

Kenma easily locates where Kuroo and Bokuto are - those two didn’t bother hiding their figures or their auras.

Kuroo’s charcoal-black aura brings a familiar comfort to Kenma; he can almost feel the shadow-like tendrils wrapping around him and bringing him warmth.

Bokuto’s mercury-silver aura is chaotic, spilling all over the place, small sparks hissing in the atmosphere. He’s worked with the other on several occasions, but he’s never seen him this agitated. Kenma remembers the gossip that Kuroo told him the other day, whispered against his cheek, about how Bokuto’s obsessively pining after one magician that managed to easily best him in some obscure mission of sorts.

Aside from those two, he also reads a majestic flare of purple coming from near the exit - the distinct aura belonging to the powerful Tower magician who doesn’t use magic, Oikawa Tooru. He’s wearing a disguise bearing a magic signature that feels unfamiliar but insignificant, probably done by someone from his Seijou Guild. His perpetual bodyguard is attached to his side, as expected.

There are other magicians, like—

“KENMA!!!”

“...Shouyou.”

“You aren’t listening to me!”

“I’m not.”

“Hey, don’t be like that!”

Kenma doesn’t resist the urge to sigh this time. He lets his tracking magic work on auto-pilot, resigning himself to getting his ears talked off by his friend for the next couple of minutes.

***

Akaashi considers himself a rather simple man, with fairly simple needs and very simple goals.

Every once in a while he agrees to help Konoha-san out with his small guild that specializes with offering affordable prices to missions catering to the commonfolk. He’s been helping out with missions that send him all over the continent recently, choosing mostly those that don’t require flashy magic.

After all, he remembers his schoolmates telling him that he’s so focused in his studies that he doesn’t care for his environment. He’s been working towards proving them wrong, even if it’s rather exhausting to focus on so many things going around him. However, because of that newly-honed awareness, he’s very attuned to the fact that there’s a very showy and powerful guy who’s following him around.

He isn’t prone to regretting his past, but he’s very lowkey regretting the fact that he clashed against Tower’s Bokuto Koutarou that one time. Apparently, he made quite an impression on the other and _he just won’t stop stalking him_.

Akaashi considers himself a rather simple man, with fairly simple needs and very simple goals.

He just wants to be able to practice his magic, study it and maybe learn a new spell-writing technique or two. He just wants to live peacefully in his studio-type apartment near the border of the city. He just wants to a simple life.

Right now, he’s been hired to help carry this auction’s caterer’s belongings, since their courier of choice has apparently been injured. It’s supposed to be a rather simple job - he’s supposed to help pack and levitate their cooking materials and other cutlery from their office to the auction hall, then help bring those back to their office once the auction ends. It’s a good way to exercise his spell-writing skills when it comes to levitation spells, seeing that he usually avoids flying. It’s a good way to earn extra money so he can buy more ingredients from the market for his next batch of experiments.

It’s supposed to be a rather simple job.

He curses himself for not double-checking the guest list for this auction.

He doubly curses himself for not actually bothering to look up what this auction is for.

The ‘Heart of Dawn’ magic stone is a fairly high-class magic stone that can compensate for a person’s small quantity of mana and beginner-level of casting skills. It’s bound to be expensive, since the Tower has not-very-subtly imposed a monopoly in magic stones during the recent years.

Such items are bound to attract mercenaries and magicians from other unsavory guilds - there’s no doubt that there will be a stealing attempt or three tonight. And with that very palpable threat, there’s no way that the bigger magician guilds and the Association will not send representatives.

Akaashi sighs and rubs at his face as he feels the spark of that mercurial magic of Bokuto Koutarou flickering all over the place. He doesn’t spend time congratulating himself for making sure that he’s wearing a disguise and a power limiter, because that guy’s becoming keener when it comes to sniffing him out. He has a bad feeling that the other will catch up to him tonight.

“Do you know what time will this auction be done?” He asks as boredly as possible, letting his eyes droop to show that he’s sleepy.

The waitstaff he asks doesn’t judge him for his apparent antsiness to go home. “Pro’lly in an hour or so? I herddhat ‘der’s only oneortwo items left for de auction.”

Akaashi weighs the pros and cons of mentally influencing his employer for the day to pack home early. He isn’t running away per se, but he’s more of avoiding unnecessary conflicts. His goal of a simple life doesn’t include a Tower magician obsessing over him.

“—Hey, hey, hey!”

Oh no.

Akaashi freezes for a tiny moment, but he forces his shoulders to relax. He _knows_ that voice, regrettably. He would’ve been fine if he didn’t know that voice, but well. Such is his life.

A heavy hand lands on his right shoulder, the action sending a thrum of magic down his spine.

“Hello, A-ka-a-shi-kun.”

***

He’s so awesome!

He knew it!

He knew he’ll come!

Bokuto quickly mutters an apology to Kuroo who’s waiting for him upstairs. He’s _so_ glad he decided to walk around the kitchens to appease his growling stomach. Figures that his hunger isn’t really for food, but for this intoxicating cloak of magic that’s just hiding the huge well of power deep underneath this man. The brown-haired, freckle-faced disguise that the other’s wearing is insufficient in preventing Bokuto from discovering the real him.

“Hello, A-ka-a-shi-kun.”

He savors each syllable of the other’s name, his hand gripping the other’s shoulder tightly.

“...I think ya got da wrong person, buddy,” the other attempts to deflect, skillfully stepping away from him and his vice-like grip. “What d’ya say ya let me go?”

Bokuto snorts, before laughing out loud. “Ahahaha, you don’t have to keep on pretending, Akaashi-kun. I can _smell_ your magic signature, you know?”


End file.
